Technique for transmitting and receiving downlink reference signals

ABSTRACT

A technique for receiving and transmitting downlink reference signals is disclosed. When transmitting downlink data demodulation reference signals (DMRS) (or reference signals for downlink data demodulation) by using two or more layers, the DMRS of each layer may be multiplexed by using a code division multiplexing method and then transmitted. The DMRS for each of the two or more layers may be used for one user equipment or for two or more user equipments. And, downlink control signals for transmitting and receiving such DMRS may be configured to have the same format regardless of a single-user mode (or SU-MIMO mode) or a multi-user mode (or MU-MIMO mode), thereby being used.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the U.S. Provisional ApplicationNos. 61/149,652, 61/179,022, 61/179,393 and 61/180,657, filed on Feb. 3,2009, May 18, 2009, May 19, 2009 and May 22, 2009, respectively, whichare hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

This application claims the benefit of the Korean Patent Application No.10-2010-0000820, filed on Jan. 6, 2010, which is hereby incorporated byreference as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile telecommunications technology,and more particularly, to a technique for receiving and transmittingdownlink reference signals. Herein, downlink reference signals for datademodulation are efficiently received and transmitted in a single usermode or a multi-user mode.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

In a mobile telecommunications system, a user equipment (UE) may receiveinformation from a base station through a downlink, and the UE may alsotransmit information through an uplink. Information transmitted orreceived by the UE may include data and diverse control information.And, depending upon the type and usage of the information transmitted orreceived by the UE, a variety of physical channels may exist.

FIG. 1 illustrates a general view showing the physical channels used ina mobile telecommunications system, such as a 3rd generation partnershipproject (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) system and a general method fortransmitting signals. When power of a UE is turned off and then turnedback on, or when using a UE newly introduced to a cell, in step 101, theUE performs an initial cell search process in order to be insynchronization with the base station. In order to do so, the UEreceives a primary synchronization channel (P-SCH) and a secondarysynchronization channel (S-SCH) from the base station, so as to be insynchronization with the base station, thereby being able to acquireinformation such as cell ID. Thereafter, the UE receives a physicalbroadcast channel from the base station, thereby being capable ofacquiring broadcast information within the cell. Meanwhile, during aninitial cell searching step, the UE receives a downlink reference signal(DL RS), thereby being able to verify the downlink (DL) channel status.After completing the initial cell search, in step 102, the UE mayreceive a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH) based upon the physical downlink controlchannel information, so as to acquire more detailed system information.

Meanwhile, in case the UE has not completed its access to the basestation, the UE may perform a random access procedure, as shown in step103 to step 106, in a later process in order to complete its access tothe base station. For this, the UE transmits a characteristic sequenceas a preamble through a physical random access channel (PRACH) (S103).Then, the UE may receive a response message respective to the randomaccess through the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and itscorresponding physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (S104).Subsequently, with the exception of a handover, in case of acontention-based random access, the UE may perform a contentionresolution procedure, such as transmitting additional physical randomaccess channels (PRACHs) (S105) and receiving the respective physicaldownlink shared channels (PDSCHs) (S106). After performing theabove-described procedure, the UE may receive physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH)/physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (S107) and maytransmit physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)/physical uplink controlchannel (PUCCH) (S108), as a general uplink/downlink (UL/DL) signaltransmission procedure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block view showing a signal processing procedurefor transmitting a downlink signal from a base station. In the 3GPP LTEsystem, the base station may transmit at least one or more code wordsvia downlink. Each of the at least one or more code words may beprocessed through a scrambling module 301 and a modulation mapper 302 asa complex symbol. Thereafter, the complex symbol is mapped to multiplelayers by a layer mapper 303. Herein, a precoding module 304 multiplieseach layer by a selected precoding matrix depending upon the channelstatus, thereby allocating (or assigning) the processed layers to eachtransmission antenna. Each transmission signal processed as describedabove for the respective antenna is mapped to a time-frequency resourceelement, which is to be used by a resource element mapper 305 fortransmission. Subsequently, each of the transmission signals passesthrough an OFDM signal generator 306 so as to be transmitted through therespective antenna.

Hereinafter, a downlink reference signal that is used in the 3GPP LTEsystem will be described in detail. The 3GPP LTE system uses antennanumber 0 to antenna number 5 as its logical antenna ports. Herein, eachantenna port is not divided (or classified) by a physical division (orclassification). Therefore, the question of mapping each logical antennaindex to which actual physical antenna index would relate to theimplementation by each manufacturer.

In the 3GPP LTE system, three different types of reference signals areused as downlink reference signals. The three types includecell-specific reference signals (non-associated with MBSFNtransmission), MBSFN reference signals associated with MBSFNtransmission, and UE-specific reference signals. A cell-specificreference signal corresponds to a reference signal generated by using acell ID for each cell as an initial value. Herein, antenna port 0 toantenna port 3 may be used for transmitting the cell-specific referencesignals. An MBSFN reference signal is used for acquiring downlinkchannel information respective to the MBSFN transmission. Herein,antenna port 4 may be used for transmitting the MBSFN reference signal.Meanwhile, in the 3GPP LTE system, a UE-specific reference signal issupported for a single antenna port transmission of the PDSCH. Herein,antenna port 5 may be used for transmitting the UE-specific referencesignal. The UE may receive from an upper layer (or higher layer) (e.g.,a MAC layer or higher) information on whether such user-specificreference signals exist so as to be used for PDSCH demodulation.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a specific reference signal beingmapped in a time-frequency resource region and transmitted, when the3GPP LTE system uses a general cyclic prefix. Referring to FIG. 3, thehorizontal axis represents a time region, and the vertical axisrepresents a frequency region. In the time-frequency region shown inFIG. 3, the smallest squared region corresponds to 1 OFDM symbol in thetime region and to 1 subcarrier in the frequency region. In the 3GPP LTEsystem, when a normal cyclic prefix (CP) is used, one slot includes 7OFDM symbols, and one sub-frame includes 2 slots. FIG. 3 illustrates apattern where a UE-specific reference signal being transmitted throughantenna port 5 is mapped to the time-frequency region throughouteven-numbered slots and odd-numbered slots, thereby being transmitted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a technique forreceiving and transmitting downlink reference signals that substantiallyobviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages ofthe related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique forreceiving and transmitting downlink reference signals that can beextended so as to transmit a user-specific reference signal of the 3GPPLTE system by using two or more layers in a 3^(rd) generationpartnership project long term evolution-advanced (3GPP LTE-A) system,which is an evolved model of the 3GPP LTE system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique forreceiving and transmitting downlink reference signals that can transmituser-specific reference signals through two or more layers, theuser-specific reference signals being supported only in signal antennatransmissions for the conventional PDSCH.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a technique forreceiving and transmitting downlink reference signals that can enable asingle user transmission mode/multiple (or multi) user transmission modeto be efficiently supported by using user-specific downlink referencesignals, which are transmitted through two or more layers, and that canmultiplex and transmit two or more user-specific downlink referencesignals, which are transmitted through two or more layers.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, in amethod of transmitting downlink reference signals using two or morelayers from a base station, the method includes multiplexing two or moredownlink reference signals being transmitted by respectively using twoor more layers for downlink data signal demodulation in a pre-determinedtime-frequency region using a code division multiplexing (CDM) method,and transmitting the multiplexed signals to one or more user equipmentsin a single-user transmission mode or a multi-user transmission mode,and transmitting downlink control signals to the at least one userequipment, the downlink control signals indicating a downlinktransmission method for each of the at least one user equipment. Herein,the downlink control signals may have identical formats regardless ofwhether or not the downlink reference signal transmission for each ofthe at least one user equipment is performed in the single-usertransmission mode or in the multi-user transmission mode.

At this point, the method of transmitting downlink reference signalsusing two or more layers from a base station may further includetransmitting the downlink data signals to the at least one userequipment in the single-user transmission mode or in the multi-usertransmission mode by using the two or more layers. Herein, the downlinkdata signals and the downlink reference signals may be processed withthe same precoding procedure, thereby being transmitted to the at leastone user equipment. Also, the downlink control signals may includeinformation on number of layers being assigned to each user equipmentand information specifying layers used in each user equipment.

Meanwhile, when the number N of layers being used in the downlinkreference signal transmission is greater than M (wherein N correspondsto a number of downlink reference signals that can be multiplexed in thepre-determined time-frequency region by using a code divisionmultiplexing method), each of the N number of downlink reference signalsmay be multiplexed within the pre-determined time-frequency region andadditional time-frequency region. Also, a multiplexing procedure usingtime division multiplexing (TDN) or frequency division multiplexing(FDM) may be performed throughout the pre-determined time-frequencyregion and additional time-frequency region for each of the N number ofdownlink reference signals being multiplexed within the pre-determinedtime-frequency region and additional time-frequency region.

Additionally, when two or more user equipments receive the M number ofdownlink reference signals, the downlink control signal beingtransmitted to a first user equipment, which receives downlink referencesignals transmitted through the pre-determined time-frequency region,may include information indicating that the additional time-frequencyregion is used for transmitting downlink reference signals to a seconduser equipment. Meanwhile, transmission power of each of the two or moredownlink reference signals may be different from one another. Herein,the downlink control signal may further include transmission powerinformation for the two or more downlink reference signals.

In another aspect of the present invention, in a method of receivingdownlink reference signals in a user equipment by using two or morelayers from a base station, the method includes receiving downlinkreference signals multiplexed by using a code division multiplexing(CDM) method in a pre-determined time-frequency region for downlink datasignal demodulation from the base station, and receiving downlinkcontrol signals indicating a downlink transmission method for the userequipment. Herein, the downlink control signals may have identicalformats regardless of whether or not the downlink reference signals,which are multiplexed by using a code division multiplexing (CDM) methodin a pre-determined time-frequency region, include downlink referencesignals that are transmitted to the user equipment as well as anotheruser equipment.

In another aspect of the present invention, in a base stationtransmitting downlink reference signals by using two or more layers, thebase station includes a processor providing downlink reference signals,which are multiplexed by using a code division multiplexing (CDM) methodin a pre-determined time-frequency region, wherein two or more downlinkreference signals are to be respectively transmitted by using the two ormore layers for downlink data signal demodulation, and downlink controlsignals indicating a downlink transmission method for each of one ormore user equipments, and a transmitting module transmitting the two ormore downlink reference signals and the downlink control signalsreceived from the processor to one or more user equipments in asingle-user transmission mode or in a multi-user transmission mode.Herein, the processor may provide the downlink control signals inidentical formats regardless of whether the single-user transmissionmode or the multi-user transmission mode is being applied.

In a further aspect of the present invention, in a user equipmentreceiving downlink reference signals being transmitted from a basestation by using two or more layers, the user equipment includes areceiving module receiving downlink reference signals multiplexed byusing a code division multiplexing (CDM) method in a pre-determinedtime-frequency region for downlink data signal demodulation from thebase station, and receiving downlink control signals indicating adownlink transmission method for the user equipment, and a processorprocessing the downlink reference signals in accordance with informationon the downlink control signals. Herein, the downlink control signalsmay have identical formats regardless of whether or not the downlinkreference signals, which are multiplexed by using a code divisionmultiplexing (CDM) method in a pre-determined time-frequency region,include downlink reference signals that are transmitted to the userequipment as well as another user equipment.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a general view showing the physical channels used ina mobile telecommunications system, such as a 3rd generation partnershipproject (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) system and a general method fortransmitting signals;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block view showing a signal processing procedurefor transmitting a downlink signal from a base station;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a specific reference signal beingmapped in a time-frequency resource region and transmitted, when the3GPP LTE system uses a general cyclic prefix;

FIG. 4 illustrates a general view of an exemplary transmitter structurethrough which a precoded RS is transmitted using an MU-MIMO method;

FIG. 5 illustrates a structure for transmitting a DMRS according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a general view showing a system configurationaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. It should be understood that the present invention is notlimited solely to the following embodiment. The following descriptionincludes specific details for providing a full understanding of thepresent invention. However, it is apparent to anyone skilled in the artthat the present invention may also be embodied without such specificdetails.

In some cases, to avoid any ambiguity in the concept of the presentinvention, structures or devices of the disclosure may be omitted, orthe embodiment of the present invention may be illustrated in the formof block views focusing on the essential functions of each structure anddevice. Also, wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

A 3GPP LTE-A system (hereinafter referred to as an “LTE-A system”) isrequired to support (1) reference signals for PDSCH demodulation, and(2) two different types of reference signals for checking channelstatus. In the following description, a reference signal for PDSCHdemodulation may be referred to as a dedicated reference signal(abbreviated as “DRS”) or a demodulation reference signal (abbreviatedas “DMRS”), as the user-specific reference signal. Also, a referencesignal may also be referred to as a reference signal (RS) or as a pilot,depending upon the applied standard. The above-described DRS or DMRS ismostly used for demodulation and may be divided into pre-coded RS andnon-precoded RS. Furthermore, the present invention proposes that, in anMIMO system, the DRS or DMRS are to be set, so as to be transmitted to asingle user receiving multiple layer signals in a single user-multiinput multi output mode (SU-MIMO mode), or to be transmitted to multipleusers in a multi user-multi input multi output mode (MU-MIMO mode).

FIG. 4 illustrates a general view of an exemplary transmitter structurethrough which a pre-coded RS is transmitted using an MU-MIMO method. Asshown in FIG. 4, K number of stream data are transmitted through OFDMsymbol 1 to OFDM symbol K. Herein, a stream refers to a signal flow of asignal being transmitted through an independent path, and a number ofstreams corresponding to a number of layers being used for thetransmission may be transmitted. Therefore, each stream signal may bereferred to as a ‘layer signal’ or a ‘layer’. Meanwhile, when K numberof layers is transmitted, i.e., when K number of layers is used for thetransmission, the transmitter according to the embodiment of the presentinvention may also transmit DMRS through K number of layers. Herein, Kis always smaller than or equal to Nt (i.e., a number of physicalantennae).

Meanwhile, it is preferable that identical precoding is performed on Knumber of data and K number of DMRS by a precoder 410. As shown in FIG.4, when an MU-MIMO method is applied, the precoder 410 performing aprecoding procedure by using a multi user precoding matrix. Thereafter,the K number of data and K number of DMRS precoded as described aboverespectively pass through an IFFT module 420 a cyclic prefix (CP)insertion module 430, thereby being transmitted to multiple UEs throughNt number of antennae 440. Referring to FIG. 4, the total K number oflayers may be assigned (or allocated) to multiple UEs. At this point, 1to K number of UEs may simultaneously share the same time/frequencyresource. Alternatively, although FIG. 4 illustrates an example wherethe MU-MIMO method is applied, a transmitter structure for an SU-MIMOtransmission method may be used without modification, when one UE forreceiving signals through the antenna 440 is used, and when the precoder410 uses a SU-MIMO-specific precoding matrix.

Alternatively, in the LTE-A system, as a means for supporting an 8TxMIMO method, an 8Tx RS structure may be provided, and checker RS andDMRS are separately transmitted in order to reduce RS overhead. At thispoint, in case of the DMRS, by using a precoded RS so as to additionallyreduce RS overhead, and by transmitting a checker RS to a low dutycycle, the RS structure may be optimized. Furthermore, it is preferablethat the DMRS is set to exist only in a resource block and layer,wherein a downlink transmission is scheduled by the base station.

Hereinafter, a method for efficiently transmitting and receiving DMRS,when the system is operated in the MU-MIMO/SU-MIMO modes, and a methodfor reducing interference between multiple users of space, when thesystem is operated in the MU-MIMO mode, will be described in detail.Referring to FIG. 4, a multi-user precoding matrix W_(Nt)*_(K)(represents a precoding matrix for configuring Nt number of physicaltransmission antennae and a space multiplexing rate K. Morespecifically, when transmission data is expressed as vector s _(k)[s₁^(k) s₂ ^(k) . . . s_(K) ^(k)]^(T), by being processed with thefollowing precoding procedure, the precoding vector transmitted to Ntnumber of physical transmission antennae may be configured as x _(k)=[x₁^(k) x₂ ^(k) . . . x_(N) _(t) ^(k)]^(T).

$\begin{matrix}{{\overset{\_}{x_{k}} = {W_{N_{t} \times K} \cdot \overset{\_}{s_{k}}}}\begin{matrix}{W_{N_{t} \times K} = \left( {{\overset{\_}{w}}_{1},{\overset{\_}{w}}_{2},\ldots \mspace{14mu},{\overset{\_}{w}}_{K}} \right)} \\{= \underset{{{Multi}\text{-}{user}}{precoding}{matrix}}{\underset{}{\begin{pmatrix}w_{10} & w_{20} & \ldots & w_{K\; 0} \\w_{11} & w_{21} & \ldots & w_{K\; 1} \\\vdots & \vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\w_{1N_{t}} & w_{2N_{t}} & \ldots & w_{{KN}_{t}}\end{pmatrix}}}}\end{matrix}} & {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1}\end{matrix}$

Herein, k represents a time-frequency resource index. Also, in Equation1, w _(i) signifies the i^(th) column vector of matrix W_(N×K). InEquation 1, K number of column vectors may be created by reconfiguringthe information fed-back from each of the 1 to K number of UEs.Alternatively, the base station may also arbitrarily configure the Knumber of column vectors by using the channel information fed-back fromthe UE. At this point, the precoded RS may be configured in thefollowing format.

A. RS Spatial Multiplexing

An RS spatial multiplexing method allows spatial separation (or spatialdivision) to be performed by a precoding vector, as reference signals(RSs) for K number of layers are transmitted to the same time-frequencyregion. Equation 2 below shows a method for configuring the RS spatialmultiplexing method.

R _(m) =W _(N) _(t) _(×K) · r _(m) , r _(m) =[r ₁ ^(m)(1), r ₁ ^(m)(2),. . . , r ₁ ^(m)(K)]^(T)   Equation 2

As shown in Equation 2, r _(m) represents an m^(th) RS symbol vector ofan RS sequence. And, [•]^(T) signifies a transpose of a matrix/vector.Furthermore, r_(j) ^(m)(n) represents a j^(th) virtual antenna port ofan m^(th) RS symbol for an n^(th) layer. The virtual antenna refers toan antenna that can transmit orthogonal RSs. Being in an orthogonalformation, the reference signals may be differentiated. Herein, when itis assumed that the RSs for each virtual antenna are configured to beorthogonal, the K number of virtual antennae r_(j) ^(m), j=1, . . . , Kmay be configured to be differentiated (or identified) within thetime/frequency/code regions. Therefore, Equation 2 shows a transmissionmethod enabling reference signals of the same time/frequency/coderegions to be spatially multiplexed, thereby being identified by theprecoding vector w _(i), i=1, . . . , K.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when referencesignals are transmitted by using a specific number of layers (i.e., Nnumber of layers), the RSs being transmitted through each layer aremultiplexed in specific time-frequency regions by using a code divisionmultiplexing (CDM) method. And, when the number of layers used for RStransmission is greater than N (e.g., when the number of layers is equalto M, wherein M>N), N number of RSs is multiplexed by using the CDMmethod within each of the specific time-frequency regions and theadditional time-frequency regions. Furthermore, RSs may be additionallymultiplexed by using time-division multiplexing (TDM) or frequencydivision multiplexing (FDM) between the time-frequency regions, so as totransmit DMRS.

FIG. 5 illustrates a structure for transmitting a DMRS according to anembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows a general sub-frameusing a general (or normal) cyclic prefix. Referring to FIG. 5, thehorizontal axis represents the time region, and the vertical axisrepresents the frequency region. Also, in the time-frequency regionsshown in FIG. 5, the smallest squared region corresponds to 1 OFDMsymbol in the time region and to 1 subcarrier in the frequency region.

Referring to FIG. 5, the pattern marked in light-green represents apattern for transmitting DMRS. More specifically, when the DMRS istransmitted through two layers, FIG. 5 illustrates a patterntransmitting two DMRSs processed with CDM through 12 resource elements.In case the DMRS is transmitted through 4 layers or through 8 layers,additional resource elements may be used in order to additionallymultiplex the DMRS using TDM and FDM. Also, in case the system uses theMU-MIMO mode, it is preferable that each UE signals its DMRS region tothe other UEs in order to prevent the DMRS transmitted to a specific UEfrom colliding with data of another UE.

Meanwhile, using Equation 2 shown above, a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention proposes a method for configuring an RS of a specificposition so that the RS can have a greater power, thereby enabling aspecific UE to perform better in channel reception. For example, RS isconfigured so that the RS of layer 1 transmits signal with a greaterpower that of the RS of layer 2, as shown in |r₁ ^(m)(1)|²>|r₁^(m)(2)|². In case of the UE, in order to perform demodulation, the UEmay receive a signal when given an RS power-to signal power ratio.Equation 3 shown below specifies an exemplary RS/signal power ratio.

$\begin{matrix}{{{\alpha_{i}\mspace{14mu}\lbrack{dB}\rbrack} = {10\log_{10}\frac{{{r_{1}()}}^{2}}{{s_{i}}^{2}}}},\mspace{14mu} {i = 1},2,\ldots \mspace{14mu},K} & {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 3}\end{matrix}$

In order to be able to receive data, the UE should know the α₁[dB] ofEquation 3. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the presentinvention, when a high transmission power is to be used for an RS of aspecific position, it is preferable that settings are made so that thecorresponding information can be notified to each UE through PDCCH orRRC signaling in sub-frame units or predetermined time units. When RS istransmitted by using the above-described method, K number of UEsrespectively uses w _(i), i=1, . . . , K so as to receive an RS. Herein,the corresponding UE can only view its own channel. In this case, sinceeach UE receives one layer at the most, in the MU-MIMO mode, the maximumnumber of layers that can belong to one UE may be configured so as todecide the number of orthogonal RSs used herein, by using Equation 4shown below.

R _(m) =W _(N) _(t) _(×K) · r _(m) , r _(m) =[r ₁ ^(m)(1), r ₂ ^(m)(2),. . . , r₁ ^(m)(K)]^(T)   Equation 4

In Equation 4, when it is assumed that r₁ ^(m)(1), r₂ ^(m)(2) isassigned to one UE, multiple layers may be transmitted to a single UE.At this point, configuration may also be made so that |r₁ ^(m)(1)²|>|r₂^(m)(2)|². In this case, α₁, α₂ for each layer should be transmitted toa single UE. More specifically, when multiple layers are assigned to asingle UE, a number of orthogonal RSs corresponding to the number oflayers should be configured. And, when it is assumed that the RS powerfor each layer may be determined differently, the single UE should beinformed of the RS layer for each layer.

Similarly, the power of a data layer may also be differently configuredfor each layer. The associated information may be provided by usingdelta power. When using delta power of a α₁, Δ(α₁−α₂) format, theoverhead of a control signal may be additionally reduced. Meanwhile, incase the DMRS is transmitted by using multiple layers as describedabove, a method for transmitting a downlink control signal forsupporting both MU-MIMO/SU-MIMO modes will now be described in detail.

1. RS Spatial Multiplexing

In case of a system supporting two layers, an orthogonal RS may beidentified by r₁ ^(m)(1), r₂ ^(m)(2) . In order to receive the firstlayer, the respective channel information should be obtained by using r₁^(m)(1). And, in order to receive the second layer, the respectivechannel information should be obtained by using r₂ ^(m)(2). Herein, incase of the MU-MIMO mode, which simultaneously transmits data tomultiple UEs, a specific UE (or UE group) may be configured to use r₁^(m)(1) so as to receive data, and another UE (or UE group) may beconfigured to use r₂ ^(m)(2) so as to receive data. At this point, r₁^(m)(1), r₂ ^(m)(2) is configured so that the mutually orthogonalcharacteristic can be satisfied in the time, frequency, or code region.In the above-described configuration, the system may be classified intotwo different types.

Type-1 (Implicit SU-MIMO/MU-MIMO Mode Support)

This embodiment of the present invention proposes the usage of anidentical downlink control signal format regardless of whether theSU-MIMO mode or the MU-MIMO mode is applied to the system. This methodrelates to a method of configuring the system so that the SU-MIMO modeand the MU-MIMO mode are identical for the UE. In other words,regardless of the application of the SU-MIMO mode or the MU-MIMO mode,the same feedback method and receiving method are applied to the UE. Inthis case, a control signal having the format as shown in Table 1 belowmay be used in the downlink control signal.

TABLE 1 Index Information 00 Rank-1 r₁ ^(m)(1) 01 Rank-1 r₂ ^(m)(2) 10Rank-2 {r₁ ^(m)(1)-1^(st) layer, r₂ ^(m)(2)-2^(nd) layer} 11 Reserved

The reserved field in Table 1 may be additionally used for indicatingthe usage or non-usage of a specific MIMO method (e.g., layer shifting,layer permutation, layer swapping, etc.) of rank-2. Table 2 below showsan exemplary method of using the above-described reserved field.

TABLE 2 Index Information 00 Rank-1 r₁ ^(m)(1) 01 Rank-1 r₂ ^(m)(2) 10Rank-2 {r₁ ^(m)(1)-1^(st) layer, r₂ ^(m)(2)-2^(nd) layer} 11 Rank-2 {r₂^(m)(2)-1^(st) layer, r₁ ^(m)(1)-2^(nd) layer}

More specifically, in the embodiment of the present invention,layer-specific information used for transmission only via a specificrank to each UE may be signaled. In case the transmission does notcorrespond to the specific rank, settings may be made so that thetransmission can be performed through a pre-decided layer. The downlinkcontrol signal according to the present invention may also have a formatother than those shown in Table 1 and Table 2. However, information onthe number of ranks being assigned to each UE and information on the RSbelonging to which layer is to be used for the UE using one rank arerequired to be transmitted. In case rank-2 is used, information on theorder for the two layers may be indicated as shown in Table 2.

Type-2 (Explicit SU-MIMO/MU-MIMO Mode Support)

This embodiment of the present invention proposes a method of explicitlydetermining a separate downlink control signal format for the SU-MIMOmode and the MU-MIMO mode. For example, the downlink control signalformat for the SU-MIMO mode and the downlink control signal format forthe MU-MIMO mode may have the following formats.

TABLE 3 Index Information 0 Rank-1 r₁ ^(m)(1) 1 Rank-2 {r₁^(m)(1)-1^(st) layer, r₂ ^(m)(2)-2^(nd) layer}

TABLE 4 Index Information 0 Rank-1 r₁ ^(m)(1) 1 Rank-1 r₂ ^(m)(2)

Table 3 shows an exemplary downlink control signal format for theSU-MIMO mode, and Table 4 shows an exemplary downlink control signalformat for the MU-MIMO mode. In the embodiment of the present invention,when using the MU-MIMO mode, as shown in Table 4, the downlink controlsignal format may be configured so that only rank-1 can be supported.Accordingly, the downlink control signal format may be configured andused to indicate the corresponding orthogonal RS using a 1-bit index,which corresponds to the same format as that of the SU-MIMO mode.

Type-3 (Implicit SU-MIMO/MU-MIMO Mode Support using Multiple Sequences)

When an orthogonal RS is configured in a CDM method, although two layersare being used, the orthogonal RS may be configured by using two or moresequences. In this case, configuration may be made so that the RS for alarger number of UEs can be transmitted simultaneously. Therefore, whenrank-1 is used for transmission, one orthogonal RS among {r₁ ^(m)(1), r₂^(m)(2), . . . , r_(n) ^(m)(N)} is notified, and when rank-1 is used fortransmission, two orthogonal RSs among {r₁ ^(m)(1), r₂ ^(m)(2), . . . ,r_(n) ^(m)(N)} are notified.

TABLE 5 Index Information 000 Rank-1 r₁ ^(m)(1) 001 Rank-1 r₂ ^(m)(2)010 Rank-1 r₃ ^(m)(3) 011 Rank-1 r₄ ^(m)(4) 100 Rank-2 {r₁^(m)(1)-1^(st) layer, r₂ ^(m)(2)-2^(nd) layer} 010 Rank-2 {r₁^(m)(1)-1^(st) layer, r₃ ^(m)(3)-2^(nd) layer} 011 Rank-2 {r₂^(m)(2)-1^(st) layer, r₃ ^(m)(3)-2^(nd) layer} 111 Rank-2 {r₂^(m)(2)-1^(st) layer, r₄ ^(m)(4)-2^(nd) layer}

Although Table 5 is configured of 8 different examples, Table 5 may alsobe configured so as to show all combinations or to partially configureand use subsets. In the whole (or entire) set, the subset may beconfigured in a cell-specific format, a UE-specific format, or a fixedformat. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, itis assumed that up to two layers are used for transmitting the DMRS.However, a larger number of layers may be used for transmitting theDMRS. Furthermore, the downlink control signal transmission format maybe decided by using the same principles as those used in theabove-described embodiment of the present invention.

Type-4 (Explicit SU-MIMO/MU-MIMO Mode Support using Universal DownlinkControl Signaling)

This embodiment of the present invention proposes a method ofsimultaneously supporting the SU-MIMO/MU-MIMO modes by using a singleuniversal downlink control signal. In this case, it is preferable tonotify the UE whether the corresponding downlink control signal isconfigured for the SU-MIMO mode or for the MU-MIMO mode. Thisinformation may be indicated through CRC masking or may be indicated byadding 1 bit to the downlink control signal. At this point, informationof the rank of the downlink control signal may be set to be interpreteddifferently depending upon the SU-MIMO mode and the MU-MIMO mode.

TABLE 6 Index Information 0 Rank-1 transmission 1 Rank-2 transmission

TABLE 7 Index Information 0 Rank-1: r₁ ^(m)(1) is used for signaldemodulation, and other RS is used for other UE 1 Rank-1: r₂ ^(m)(2) isused for signal demodulation, and other RS is used for other UE

Table 6 shows an example of interpreting rank information in the SU-MIMOmode, and Table 7 shows an example of interpreting rank information inthe MU-MIMO mode.

2. RS Time/Frequency Multiplexing

This embodiment of the present invention proposes a method of alwaystransmitting K number of orthogonal RSs regardless of the number of UEsto which each RS is simultaneously transmitted, when using the DMRS.This may be expressed by using Equation 5 shown below.

R _(m) =W _(N) _(t) _(×K) · r _(m) , r _(m) =[r ₁ ^(m)(1), r ₂ ^(m)(2),. . . , r _(K) ^(m)(K)]^(T)   Equation 5

When transmission is performed as shown in Equation 5, all UEs alwaysreceive the channel of all layers. Therefore, information indicatingwhich layer corresponds to the RS of the corresponding UE should benotified. In this case, the RS information may be notified by using twodifferent methods. One of the methods is to indicate which of the Knumber of layer is the layer for the corresponding UE by using a bit mapor a specific method, or to indicate only the used RS information. Theother method relates to when the number K is unknown to the UE. In thiscase, a method of receiving the RS without knowing the number K (i.e.,how many layers are used) may be provided. For example, among K numberof layers, when it is assumed that a specific UE is to receive layer 1and layer 2, the base station provides the UE with informationindicating that r₁ ^(m)(1), r₂ ^(m)(2) have been used. Then, based uponthis information, the UE may receive the corresponding RS.

The first method is advantageous in that the UE is capable ofcontrolling to a certain level an interference signal originating fromanother UE signal. However, since the UE should be capable of performingchannel checking for all layers, the RS overhead may be large. Thesecond method may be able to reduce RS overhead by transmitting a signalof the corresponding UE to a position where an orthogonal RS istransmitted for another UE. However, the second method isdisadvantageous in that multi-user interference cannot be controlled inthe corresponding UE. In this case, the RS power may be determineddifferently for each later, as described above. And, such informationα_(i)[dB] may be transmitted through the PDCCH or the RRC, or may betransmitted in accordance with a specific time cycle period.

3. MU-MIMO-Based Antenna Selection using Virtualization

The LTE-A system is configured to support 8 different transmissionantennae. However, in order to also support an LTE UE, which supports upto 4 transmission antennae, antenna virtualization may be determined andused herein. More specifically, antenna virtualization refers to amethod of configuring 8 initial virtual antennae and transmitting RS for4 of the 8 virtual antennae in order to perform a 4Tx MIMO transmission.c_(i)(m), Z=0, . . . , 7 corresponds to a cell-specific RS sequencerespective to antenna #0 to antenna #7, which are used for checking (ormeasuring). By using the virtual antenna matrix (v), c_(i)(m), i=0, . .. , 7 may be mapped to the virtual antenna. Herein, C_(i)(m), i=0, . . ., 7 represents a virtual-antenna-mapped RS sequence.

$\begin{matrix}{{{{C_{i}(m)} = {{\overset{\_}{v}}_{i} \cdot {c_{i}(m)}}},\mspace{14mu} {i = 0},1,\ldots \mspace{14mu},7}{V = {\left( {{\overset{\_}{v}}_{0},{\overset{\_}{v}}_{2},\ldots \mspace{14mu},{\overset{\_}{v}}_{7}} \right) = \underset{{virtualization}{matrix}}{\underset{}{\begin{pmatrix}v_{00} & v_{10} & \ldots & v_{70} \\v_{01} & v_{11} & \ldots & v_{70} \\\vdots & \vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\v_{07} & v_{17} & \ldots & v_{77}\end{pmatrix}}}}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 6}\end{matrix}$

Herein, as a complex coefficient, v_(ij) may be configured in a varietyof formats depending upon the current circumstances. It s preferablethat the V matrix is generally configured in a unitary matrix format, sothat all transmission antennae can transmit an equal power level. Forexample, the virtual antenna matrix (V) may be configured to have theformat shown in Equation 7 below.

$\begin{matrix}{V_{{example}\; 1} = {\left( {{\overset{\_}{v}}_{0},{\overset{\_}{v}}_{2},\ldots \mspace{14mu},{\overset{\_}{v}}_{7}} \right) = \begin{pmatrix}1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \\1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & {- 1} & 0 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & {- 1} & 0 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & {- 1} & 0 \\0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & {- 1}\end{pmatrix}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{20mu} 7} \\{V_{{example}\; 2} = {\left( {{\overset{\_}{v}}_{0},{\overset{\_}{v}}_{2},\ldots \mspace{14mu},{\overset{\_}{v}}_{7}} \right) = \left( \begin{matrix}1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 \\0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \\^{{j\theta}_{1}n} & 0 & 0 & 0 & {- ^{{j\theta}_{1}n}} & 0 & 0 & 0 \\0 & ^{{j\theta}_{2}n} & 0 & 0 & 0 & {- ^{{j\theta}_{2}n}} & 0 & 0 \\0 & 0 & ^{{j\theta}_{3}n} & 0 & 0 & 0 & {- ^{{j\theta}_{2}n}} & 0 \\0 & 0 & 0 & ^{{j\theta}_{4}n} & 0 & 0 & 0 & {- ^{{j\theta}_{2}n}}\end{matrix} \right)}} & {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 8}\end{matrix}$

Alternatively, the virtual antenna matrix (V) may also be configured inthe form of well known matrices, such as the DFT matrix or the Walshmatrix. More specifically, based upon the 8 virtual antennae configuredas described above, the MU-MIMO may be configured without additionallyusing the precoding matrix. In this case, the UE may configure anaccurate CQI, thereby minimizing complexity in the UE. For example, theUE may estimate 8 virtual antennae through the cell-specific RS used forchecking purposes (CRS) C_(i)(m), so as to estimate the channel of all 8transmission antennae. Therefore, among the CRS C_(i)(m) for the 8transmission antennae, when a transmission antenna besting fitting theUE is selected, this indicates that the v _(i) of the virtualizationmatrix is selected. In other words, this corresponds to a method ofselecting one specific transmission antenna among 8 differenttransmission antennae. And, when the related information is fed-back,the base station may be able to induce the v _(i) in accordance with thefed-back information. The base station may use the transmission antennaselection information fed-back from multiple UEs, so as to induce aprecoding vector v _(i) preferred by each UE. Then, based upon theinduced vector, the base station configures an arbitrary precodingvector, so as to transmit the MU-MIMO. At this point, the newlyconfigured (or created) precoding vector may be transmitted through theDMRS.

Furthermore, in order to efficiently configure MU-MIMO pairing, amongthe total of 8 transmission antennae C_(i)(m), i=0, 1, . . . , 7, asubset is configured so that the selected antenna information, CQI, andso on are only fed-back and used in the subset. The performance of thismethod may be decided based upon the configuration of the virtualizationmatrix. Herein, the base station may also arbitrarily decide and use thevirtualization matrix configuration. For example, although the UEreceives all of C_(i)(m), i=0, 1, . . . , 7, when the base stationdetermines a subset as {C₁, C₂, C₄}, it is preferable that the UEfeeds-back the information related to the MU-MIMO only within thecorresponding subset. This method may be used in combination with anadditional precoding vector/matrix. For example, when a rank-a precodingvector set is configured, as shown in Equation 9 below, and used, theadditional precoding vector and the virtual antenna may both beselected.

$\begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}{{Set}_{1}^{{rank}\; 1} = \left\{ {{\overset{\_}{p}}_{0},{\overset{\_}{p}}_{1},{\overset{\_}{p}}_{2},\ldots \mspace{14mu},{\overset{\_}{p}}_{N}} \right\}} \\{= \left\{ {\begin{bmatrix}1 \\0 \\0 \\0 \\0 \\0 \\0 \\0\end{bmatrix},\begin{bmatrix}0 \\1 \\0 \\0 \\0 \\0 \\0 \\0\end{bmatrix},\begin{bmatrix}0 \\0 \\1 \\0 \\0 \\0 \\1 \\0\end{bmatrix},\ldots \mspace{14mu},\begin{bmatrix}1 \\1 \\1 \\1 \\{- 1} \\j \\{- j} \\1\end{bmatrix}} \right\}}\end{matrix} & {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 9}\end{matrix}$

In Equation 9, p ₀, p ₁, p ₂ represents a portion of a virtual antennaselection vector, this may be used in combination with a non-virtualantenna selection vector, such as p _(N). Herein, N signifies the sizeof a codebook subset and is always smaller than or equal to the totalcodebook size. This may be easily expanded in the MU-MIMO mode, whereinmultiple layers are assigned to a single UE.

4. Rank Selection

When the system uses the MU-MIMO mode, wherein multiple layers areassigned to a single UE, the UE cannot easily feed-back the number ofpreferred layers to the base station. This is because it is difficultfor the UE to estimate the number of scheduled UEs and the amount (orlevel) of multi-user interference. Therefore, in the MU-MIMO mode, theUE should use the number of layers decided by the base station.

Therefore, although multiple layers are used, a rank feedback is notrequired in the MU-MIMO. Such rank selection may be performed by using acodebook subset restriction. Herein, the codebook subset restrictionshould be configured differently for the SU-MIMO mode and the MU-MIMOmode. For example, as shown in Table 8 below, it is assumed that aSU-MIMO codebook having 16 precoding vectors/matrices for each rank of 4transmission antennae is used. In this case, the total number ofprecoding vectors/matrices in Table 8 is equal to 64. In a basic methodof restricting codebook subset in a SU-MIMO mode, each precodingvector/matrix is configured to be turned on/off by using a 64-bitbitmap.

Accordingly, even if the codebook subset is used, all ranks may beincluded in the subset, or only the precoding of a specific rank may beused. However, in case of the MU-MIMO mode, since there is no rankfeedback, the codebook subset restriction should always be configured inrank units. For example, when it is assumed that the SU-MIMO codebookshown below is used without modification, 2 bits are used to specify therank. Then, the remaining 16-bit bitmap may be used to turn on/off thesubset of the corresponding rank. However, since a full ranktransmission signifies the SU-MIMO mode, not all of the ranks used inthe SU-MIMO mode are required to be used. For example, when theprecoding of the MU-MIO mode is predetermined to use only rank-1 andrank-2, the rank information for the codebook subset is configured of 1bit, and the codebook subset may be configured of the remaining 16 bits.

TABLE 8 Codebook Number of layers υ (rank) index u_(n) 1 2 3 4 0 u₀ = [1−1 −1 −1]^(T) W₀ ^({1}) W₀ ^({14})/{square root over (2)} W₀^({124})/{square root over (3)} W₀ ^({1234})/2 1 u₁ = [1 −j 1 j]^(T) W₁^({1}) W₁ ^({12})/{square root over (2)} W₁ ^({123})/{square root over(3)} W₁ ^({1234})/2 2 u₂ = [1 1 −1 1]^(T) W₂ ^({1}) W₂ ^({12})/{squareroot over (2)} W₂ ^({123})/{square root over (3)} W₂ ^({3214})/2 3 u₃ =[1 j 1 −j]^(T) W₃ ^({1}) W₃ ^({12})/{square root over (2)} W₃^({123})/{square root over (3)} W₃ ^({3214})/2 4 u₄ = [1 (−1 −j)/{square root over (2)} −j (1 − j)/{square root over (2)}]^(T) W₄^({1}) W₄ ^({14})/{square root over (2)} W₄ ^({124})/{square root over(3)} W₄ ^({1234})/2 5 u₅ = [1 (1 − j)/{square root over (2)} j (−1 −j)/{square root over (2)}]^(T) W₅ ^({1}) W₅ ^({14})/{square root over(2)} W₅ ^({124})/{square root over (3)} W₅ ^({1234})/2 6 u₆ = [1 (1 +j)/{square root over (2)} −j (−1 + j)/{square root over (2)}]^(T) W₆^({1}) W₆ ^({13})/{square root over (2)} W₆ ^({134})/{square root over(3)} W₆ ^({1324})/2 7 u₇ = [1 (−1 + j)/{square root over (2)} j (1 +j)/{square root over (2)}]^(T) W₇ ^({1}) W₇ ^({13})/{square root over(2)} W₇ ^({134})/{square root over (3)} W₇ ^({1324})/2 8 u₈ = [1 −1 11]^(T) W₈ ^({1}) W₈ ^({12})/{square root over (2)} W₈ ^({124})/{squareroot over (3)} W₈ ^({1234})/2 9 u₉ = [1 −j −1 −j]^(T) W₉ ^({1}) W₉^({14})/{square root over (2)} W₉ ^({134})/{square root over (3)} W₉^({1234})/2 10 u₁₀ = [1 1 1 −1]^(T) W₁₀ ^({1}) W₁₀ ^({13})/{square rootover (2)} W₁₀ ^({123})/{square root over (3)} W₁₀ ^({1324})/2 11 u₁₁ =[1 j −1 j]^(T) W₁₁ ^({1}) W₁₁ ^({13})/{square root over (2)} W₁₁^({134})/{square root over (3)} W₁₁ ^({1324})/2 12 u₁₂ = [1 −1 −1 1]^(T)W₁₂ ^({1}) W₁₂ ^({12})/{square root over (2)} W₁₂ ^({123})/{square rootover (3)} W₁₂ ^({1234})/2 13 u₁₃ = [1 −1 1 −1]^(T) W₁₃ ^({1}) W₁₃^({13})/{square root over (2)} W₁₃ ^({123})/{square root over (3)} W₁₃^({1324})/2 14 u₁₄ = [1 1 −1 −1]^(T) W₁₄ ^({1}) W₁₄ ^({13})/{square rootover (2)} W₁₄ ^({123})/{square root over (3)} W₁₄ ^({3214})/2 15 u₁₅ =[1 1 1 1]^(T) W₁₅ ^({1}) W₁₅ ^({12})/{square root over (2)} W₁₅^({123})/{square root over (3)} W₁₅ ^({1234})/2

In Table 8 shown above, W_(n) ^((s)) may be obtained by a set {s} beingconfigured of the following equation W_(n)=I−2u_(n)u_(n) ^(H)/u_(n)^(H)u_(n). At this point, I represents an identity matrix, and u_(n) isgiven in Table 8. Such precoding may be configured in any format, and aspecific codebook format may be configured for 8 transmission antennae.However, the format of the above-described codebook subset may bedirectly applied without modification. Additionally, even though thesystem uses the MU-MIMO mode, in order to know the channel status of theUE belonging to the base station more accurately, the system may requirerank, PMI, CQI feedback of the SU-MIMO mode format.

FIG. 6 illustrates a general view showing a system configurationaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. It is assumed thatthe base station 600 used in the embodiment of the present inventioncorresponds to a base station using two or more layers so as to transmitDMRS. Herein, the base station 600 includes Nt number of transmissionand reception antennae. The base station 600 also includes a receivingmodule 610 for receiving uplink signals, a processor 620 for processingthe receiving signals and providing the transmitting signals, and atransmitting module 630 for transmitting downlink signals. The processor620 of the base station 600 may include processing modules, as shown inFIG. 2, for transmitting downlink signals. However, this will not limitthe detailed structure of the processor 620 performing the functionsthat will now be described in detail.

In the description of the present invention, it is proposed that theprocessor 620 of the base station 600 uses each of the two or more layerso as to perform PDSCH demodulation, thereby multiplexing andtransmitting two or more DMRSs that are to be transmitted using the CDMmethod. As described above, the CDM-processed two or more layers may betransmitted in the MU-MIMO mode so as to be transmitted to different UEs700 and 800. Alternatively, the CDM-processed two or more layers may betransmitted in the SU-MIMO mode so that all of the multiple layers areused for a single UE (e.g., 700).

Additionally, the processor 620 of the base station 600 may providedownlink control signals indicating the DMRS transmission format to eachUE 700 and/or 800. Herein, the downlink control signals provided by theprocessor 620 of the base station 600 may use all of the above-describedtype 1 to type 4. For example, when the same control signal format isused regardless of the MU-MIMO/SU-MIMO mode, a downlink control signalmay include information on the number of layers being assigned to eachUE, layer identification information assigned to each UE, and so on.Meanwhile, the UE 700 and/or 800 receiving the DMRS being transmittedfrom the base station 600 through two or more layers may includereceiving modules 710 and 810 for receiving downlink signals, processors720 and 820 processing downlink receiving signals and providing uplinktransmitting signals, and transmitting modules 730 and 830 transmittinguplink signals.

More specifically, the receiving modules 710 and 810 of the UE mayreceive DMRS, which is multiplexed by using a CDM method in apredetermined time-frequency region for downlink data signaldemodulation, and downlink control signals indicating the downlinktransmission method for each UE from the base station 600. Herein, thedownlink control signals may be set to have the same format regardlessof whether or not the DMRS, which is multiplexed by using the CDM methodin a predetermined time-frequency region, includes downlink referencesignals that are transmitted to the corresponding UE (e.g., 700) as wellas other UEs (e.g., 800). As described above, depending upon theinformation of the downlink control signals received by the receivingmodules 710 and 810, the processors 720 and 820 may each be able toprocess the received DMRS.

As described above, the technique for receiving and transmittingdownlink reference signals has the following advantages. According tothe embodiment of the present invention, by using downlink referencesignals being transmitted through two or more layers, the presentinvention may efficiently support a single-user transmissionmode/multi-user transmission mode. Furthermore, the present inventionmay minimize signaling overhead and may also minimize interferencebetween each user. Herein, although the description of the presentinvention has been focused on the 3GPP LTE-A system, the presentinvention may be applied to IEEE-type systems, which correspond to thenext generation mobile telecommunications technology, or may be appliedto system of other standards under the same principles described herein.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, itis intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. In a method of transmitting downlink reference signals using two ormore layers from a base station, the method comprising: multiplexing twoor more downlink reference signals being transmitted by respectivelyusing two or more layers for downlink data signal demodulation in apre-determined time-frequency region using a code division multiplexing(CDM) method, and transmitting the multiplexed signals to one or moreuser equipments in a single-user transmission mode or a multi-usertransmission mode; and transmitting downlink control signals to the atleast one user equipment, the downlink control signals indicating adownlink transmission method for each of the at least one userequipment, and wherein the downlink control signals have identicalformats regardless of whether or not the downlink reference signaltransmission for each of the at least one user equipment is performed inthe single-user transmission mode or in the multi-user transmissionmode.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein, the downlink control signalsinclude control information indicating the layer, in which the downlinkreference signal transmission for the specific user equipment isperformed, only when the downlink reference signal transmission for aspecific user equipment is performed through a specific number oflayers, and wherein, when the downlink reference signal transmission forthe specific user equipment is not performed through the specific numberof layers, the layer in which the downlink reference signal transmissionfor the specific user equipment is performed is predetermined
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting the downlink datasignals to the at least one user equipment in the single-usertransmission mode or in the multi-user transmission mode by using thetwo or more layers, and wherein the downlink data signals and thedownlink reference signals are processed with the same precodingprocedure, thereby being transmitted to the at least one user equipment.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink control signals includeinformation on number of layers being assigned to each user equipmentand information specifying layers used in each user equipment.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein, when the number N of layers being used inthe downlink reference signal transmission is greater than M, wherein Ncorresponds to a number of downlink reference signals that can bemultiplexed in the pre-determined time-frequency region by using a codedivision multiplexing method, each of the N number of downlink referencesignals are multiplexed within the pre-determined time-frequency regionand additional time-frequency region, and wherein a multiplexingprocedure using time division multiplexing (TDN) or frequency divisionmultiplexing (FDM) is performed throughout the pre-determinedtime-frequency region and additional time-frequency region for each ofthe N number of downlink reference signals being multiplexed within thepre-determined time-frequency region and additional time-frequencyregion.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein, when two or more userequipments receive the M number of downlink reference signals, thedownlink control signal being transmitted to a first user equipment,which receives downlink reference signals transmitted through thepre-determined time-frequency region, includes information indicatingthat the additional time-frequency region is used for transmittingdownlink reference signals to a second user equipment.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein transmission power of each of the two or more downlinkreference signals is different from one another, and wherein thedownlink control signal further includes transmission power informationfor the two or more downlink reference signals.
 8. In a method ofreceiving downlink reference signals in a user equipment by using two ormore layers from a base station, the method comprising: receivingdownlink reference signals multiplexed by using a code divisionmultiplexing (CDM) method in a pre-determined time-frequency region fordownlink data signal demodulation from the base station; and receivingdownlink control signals indicating a downlink transmission method forthe user equipment, and wherein the downlink control signals haveidentical formats regardless of whether or not the downlink referencesignals, which are multiplexed by using a code division multiplexing(CDM) method in a pre-determined time-frequency region, include downlinkreference signals that are transmitted to the user equipment as well asanother user equipment.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein, the downlinkcontrol signals include control information indicating the layer, inwhich the downlink reference signal transmission for the user equipmentis performed, only when the downlink reference signal transmission forthe user equipment is performed through a specific number of layers, andwherein, when the downlink reference signal transmission for the userequipment is not performed through the specific number of layers, thelayer in which the downlink reference signal transmission for the userequipment is performed is predetermined.
 10. The method of claim 8,further comprising: receiving the downlink data signals from the basestation, and wherein the downlink data signals and the downlinkreference signals are processed with the same precoding procedure,thereby being transmitted to the user equipment from the base station.11. The method of claim 8, wherein the downlink reference signalsinclude information on number of layers being assigned to each userequipment and information specifying layers used in each user equipment.12. In a base station transmitting downlink reference signals by usingtwo or more layers, the base station comprising: a processor providingdownlink reference signals, which are multiplexed by using a codedivision multiplexing (CDM) method in a pre-determined time-frequencyregion, wherein two or more downlink reference signals are to berespectively transmitted by using the two or more layers for downlinkdata signal demodulation, and downlink control signals indicating adownlink transmission method for each of one or more user equipments;and a transmitting module transmitting the two or more downlinkreference signals and the downlink control signals received from theprocessor to one or more user equipments in a single-user transmissionmode or in a multi-user transmission mode, and wherein the processorprovides the downlink control signals in identical formats regardless ofwhether the single-user transmission mode or the multi-user transmissionmode is being applied.
 13. The base station of claim 12, wherein thetransmitting module additionally transmits downlink data signals to theone or more user equipments in the single-user transmission mode or inthe multi-user transmission mode, and wherein the downlink data signalsand the downlink reference signals are processed with the same precodingprocedure so as to be transmitted to the one or more user equipment. 14.The base station of claim 12, wherein the downlink control signalsinclude information on number of layers being assigned to each userequipment and information specifying layers used in each user equipment.15. In a user equipment receiving downlink reference signals beingtransmitted from a base station by using two or more layers, the userequipment comprising: a receiving module receiving downlink referencesignals multiplexed by using a code division multiplexing (CDM) methodin a pre-determined time-frequency region for downlink data signaldemodulation from the base station, and receiving downlink controlsignals indicating a downlink transmission method for the userequipment; and a processor processing the downlink reference signals inaccordance with information on the downlink control signals, and whereinthe downlink control signals have identical formats regardless ofwhether or not the downlink reference signals, which are multiplexed byusing a code division multiplexing (CDM) method in a pre-determinedtime-frequency region, include downlink reference signals that aretransmitted to the user equipment as well as another user equipment. 16.The user equipment of claim 15, wherein the receiving module furtherreceives the downlink data signals from the base station, and whereinthe downlink data signals and the downlink reference signals areprocessed with the same precoding procedure so as to be transmitted tothe user equipment from the base station.
 17. The user equipment ofclaim 15, wherein the downlink control signals include information onnumber of layers being assigned to each user equipment and informationspecifying layers used in each user equipment.